Maintenance
Jakarta, 24th January 2011
On the road again! This few days I am up and about in Indonesia to get KLD of the starting blocks here. I have taken over some of the previous jobs I was working on here and we are now in the process to convert the contracts over to KLD. As the team remains the same the clients are mostly comfortable with the transition. But it needs to be formally and contractually sealed hence we are meeting our clients and introduce the new face of KLD. Hail the communication technology, but nothing beats good old face to face meetings.
One of the things that really strikes me in Jakarta is the poor state of the lighting installations. It is a general problem that applies to the whole of Asia, but touring around tonight, checking out some the illuminated buildings and landmarks, I can only say that much is not working as it should. Ok, it is Monday evening and maybe in view of energy saving some building owners have switched off parts of the lighting but from some uncoordinated random lights that are working it looks more like a maintenance issue. And that is one of the key issues of a good lighting design. It should not look good just on opening night, several months down the road it should still work, several years later it should still stand the test of time. Unfortunately in many projects in this region, budgets are not what they should be, clients are taking short cuts by replacing specified lights by cheaper alternatives of lower quality. Together with possible shortcuts taken by the installation contractor we find ourselves with lighting installations that fail shortly after start of operation. With mostly no proper maintenance operation in place (this should be negotiated as part of the installation tender!) we end up with badly looking (if any) lighting installations at night.
In Light Watch tonight I wanted to highlight the Jakarta skyline, but I must say that many of the buildings fail miserably. Below a picture of the National Monument (Monas) on how it should look like. From my local partner I hear that he has not seen the monument lit for a long time! What a shame!
Light Watch 16: National Monument Jakarta, Indonesia
Planning
Singapore, 21st January 2011
While most of Asia is gearing itself up for the upcoming Chinese New Year’s celebrations, I am planning the work ahead for my new company. In a way it suits me perfectly as traditionally Chinese new year is a time where practically everything is closed and companies stop working for prolonged times. What is more, in the run up to the actual holidays which this year fall on 4th and 5th February, business slows down from 1-2 weeks before and only slowly start back 1-2 weeks after. This means that most of my clients have their attention away from the projects for a while, a perfect time to plan ahead, certainly when you are setting up a new company!
In our work time management is essential. I have blogged before that we basically deal in time. Yes we have our expertise, but our real commodity is time! So planning our involvement in the projects ahead is crucial. Which means assessing the extend of the lighting design works to be done, assigning it to the person or persons with the appropriate expertise and work knowledge and then cross check it with other project time lines to see if there are clashes in terms of deliveries to the respective clients. Note that one person can handle several projects at the same time but still each individual needs to make sure they can deliver as projected. Practice shows that you need to build in quite some “buffer” time as in our business we are continuously confronted with unforeseen and urgent demands which can take up a big chunk of our time. As a rule we often double or even triple the time actually needed to complete the works. If we can deliver faster we impress our clients! It’s called managing expectations….
In anticipation of the big Chinese New Year celebrations in Light Watch today I take a look at the Orchard Road lighting decorations which always are a feast to the eye. While I take Orchard road as the example, many different areas of Singapore and for the matter most major cities around the world decorate their streets with dazzling lights to celebrateee the various seasons.
Light Watch 15: Orchard Road Singapore – Xmas 2010 Festive Light up
Lighting Publications
Singapore, 20th January 2011
Today I received one of the latest editions of a lighting magazine called Lighting India. As many of you know I am a regular writer not only in my blog but also in various magazines. I have had my regular column called Reflections in Lighting Today magazine for more than 5 years already! I received the magazine to which I am not subscribed but read once in a while because it features a cover story about lifestyle lighting which I wrote base on two projects we completed last year in China.
Lighting publications such as the Professional Lighting Design magazine, Lighting Today, Luminous, Lighting (UK), Lighting (Australia), Enlighter and many others offer us lighting designers as well as any other interested parties in lighting a great window into the world of lighting. It allows us to share and learn with and from others without having to travel the world, get insights and opinions from experts and be updated about the latest trends and technologies. Of course we have to always read with an open mind and take things in with due diligence as opinions are just that and often project reports a brushed up to look great. It wouldn’t be the first time I see the reality being a far cry from the beautiful pictures in the magazine. But having said that, lighting magazines are a great way to communicate.
It has to be said that more and more lighting publications are moving on line. I still like to have a hard copy in my hand but with the growing popularity of IPADS and the like we seem to be definitely moving to a paperless society! Most of the magazines offer a soft copy or a link where the magazine can be downloaded.
In Light Watch today I pay tribute to all those hundreds of publishers, editors and writers that put their time and efforts in to bring us their lighting publications. I provide you with the link to Lighting India for this issue (http://www.mediafire.com/?v5ubge5z7g7mtwb) so you can judge for yourself all the hard work that goes into publications. My blog is featured on the www.pldplus.com magazine website which provides you with a further link to PLD magazine.
Light Watch 14: Lighting publications, Lighting India
Entrepreneurship
Singapore, 19th January 2011
One of my clients in Indonesia is Ciputra, one of the biggest property developers around. This evening I therefore made it a point to watch an interview with the man, who is an example of great entrepreneurship. I have a special interest as I was privileged to be invited to his private home and have met Pak Ciputra several times in my projects . I have always been impressed by his vision and drive and most of all his understanding of the importance of lighting. He is ardent supporter of art, which is omnipresent in his residence.
The main reason for the interview was that Ciptura is going to set up a school for entrepreneurs. His vision is that Indonesia needs entrepreneurs not employees. His university will help create the much needed entrepreneurs the country needs. “He who turns garbage into gold is an entrepreneur” is his definition. We as lighting designers are entrepreneurs in our own right. Not only people like myself who start a company out of nothing, but also our designers who take an idea and turn it into reality. A good designer needs to have the vision and entrepreneurial spirit not only in the creative process but most of all in the realisation process. Our concepts are the result of our dreams, converting them into reality and within local limitations and budget is another story and requires pro-active thinking, a character trait of a good entrepreneur. How often do we not hear: “it’s not possible”? Entrepreneurs don’t take no for an answer and find solutions, think out of the box, take another look to make it work somehow! Taking our lighting design to the end is entrepreneurship!
In line with entrepreneurship I would like to highlight in Light Watch today the Lighting Design Awards that exist around the world. The international awards from organisations like IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) but also the local country and state chapters from organisations like the IES (Illuminating & Engineering Society) and many others. In a way Lighting Design awards the culmination of lighting design entrepreneurship.
Light Watch 12: Lighting Design Awards
IT education
Singapore, 18th January 2011
In our profession as lighting designers the computer has become our heart and soul and ultimate work horse. It is probably the same for many other professions, certainly in the creative ones. Imagine life without it. I bet you that many of you wouldn’t even know how to practice lighting design without a computer. I have lived life as a lighting designer when personal computers did not exist and the only “computer” we had (I was working in Philips at the time), was a huge so called main frame computer located in and occupying a complete special room on another floor. In order to do lighting calculations we needed to prepare hundreds of punch cards which were then fed into the computer. One mistake in one of the punch cards and the calculations was wrong. Anyhow my point for today is that we have come a long way since those days and now are totally dependable on information technology through our computers.
Hence when your computer does not work properly or the internet is down we are frustrated as we have become so dependable on them working perfectly round the clock. If not for internet, email and programs like Skype, I would not know how to run my business and keep in touch with my staff, my clients, family and friends. When away from home it allows me to keep in touch without raking up big telephone bills….
Today’s new generation is brought up in this IT world, so much so that it is compulsory basically to have a computer to be able to do your homework. You can “Google” this if you not believe me … 🙂
Today’s Light watch is dedicated to the educational system, specifically the ones dedicated to lighting. There are several well known institutes in the world that provide dedicated lighting design studies. I just name the Wismar Hochschule (from which I have several of my designers), the Bartlett School in London and the NSW University in Sydney, but there are many more. Using the computer surely is integral in today’s lighting design studies.
Light Watch 12: Wismar Hochschule, Germany
Art
Singapore, 17th January 2011
Over the weekend I took the opportunity to visit Art Stage Singapore, a new art fair touted as the top contemporary Art Market in Asia Pacific. As lighting designers we distinguish ourselves from electrical engineers by our creativity in finding lighting solutions and one way (for me) to keep my creative juices flowing is to be inspired by other creative artists. Fittingly held at the iconinc Marina Bay Sands exhibition halls, it featured over 100 of the world’s best and well known art galleries, representing top artists including Picasso and Botero! According to press releases already more the $2 million worth of art was sold after the first 2 days!
What struck me was the vast array of new and upcoming artists and their artworks most of them with installations out of the ordinary, in other words not your conventional painting sort of thing. Even more interesting to me (I definitely don’t consider myself as an art expert) is the increasing use of multimedia components such as video and projection and most of all lighting (LED’s!) as part of or actually being the artwork! There is no such thing as only still art anymore, today’s trend is definitely dynamic and interactive! There were different ways in which lighting was represented at the fair. There was one artist who created decorative light fittings where shape form and the interplay of light and shadow was centre to his art. There were several artists who used LED and laser light to create art forms in different ways. One artist projected a moving light through transparent shapes creating different projected shadow effects. My favorite was a Korean artist (Soon-Young Lee) who actually used artificial lighting and daylight effects as an integral part of her paintings. In our job we create renderings to visualise our lighting to the client, she does it as an art form.
So my Light Watch today is dedicated to art and specifically those artists who use lighting in any form of way as a creative element in their art work. I am sure there are art fairs around the world. If you come across one in your part of the world do go have a look and get yourself inspired! (see also www.artstagesingapore.com)
Light Watch 11: Art Stage Singapore, Dreaming Wall by Soon-Young Lee
Flooded!
Singapore, 14th January 2011
Seems like La Nina is striking hard all around the world! With raging floods going on in Australia, Brasil and the Phillipines, we are all confronted with the amazing force of mother nature. In Australia there was some advanced notice hence the authorities were able to switch off the power in the affected areas and save some of the equipment…nowadays life without power is hard to imagine! I have never been personally affected by floods of this nature but I can only feel compassion for all those involved! The news images speak for themselves.
It also reinforces my view of the importance of applying very good quality when we design our lighting for the exteriors. Most of all the installation of the equipment is critical. Besides specifying good quality fixtures that can withstand being submerged for a little while, we can do much towards providing proper installation details. At the time we design and install the lighting we generally deal with normal and dry conditions, but we should be very mindful of extreme weather situations that may occur in our area of design such as typhoons or flooding. Not something we generally consider! So thinking about how the installed light could be affected can save a lot of headache in the future when bad weather may occur. For instance I always make it a point in landscape lighting to raise my recessed in-ground up-lights from the ground 50-100mm and embedding them in a concrete base so that the lights don’t get immediately flooded with heavy rain and covered with leaves and other garden rubbish and are protected from wild mowing gardeners!
In this Light Watch some pictures of submerged poles and signs!
Light Watch 10: Flooding
Fengshui and numbers
Singapore, 13th January 2011
One of the things I got to appreciate when I arrived in Asia many years ago was the science of Feng Shui and Numerology. I am triggered by this thought as today’s date is the 13th, a number by many ruled as unlucky. As a practical westerner I was very sceptical about these Asian philosophies when I arrived but as years went by I gradually started to experience and be exposed to the practices and witnessed some interesting success stories. Whether coincidental or the result of the Feng Shui application can of course be debated.
I found it interesting enough to study these Eastern philosophies for a while and have been mindful of some general principles that are at the heart of it all in my lighting designs. A lot is just common logical and basic sense, the art of placement, the energy flow and balance…Lighting in my opinion definitely has a place in this all and isn’t lighting design also a matter of common sense and balance…?
In Eastern philosophy the number 4 has a bad connotation as it is associated with death, reversely number 8 is seen as lucky as it’s pronunciation in Chinese sounds very much like prosper or fortune. One day I was present in a client meeting where a Feng Shui specialist presented an invoice for his services for his recommendations to improve the overall design, which amount the client found much too high. He then explained that the invoice amount was auspicious and the result also of his Feng Shui work for the good outcome of this project and could therefore in no way be altered…ha-ha… that was a good one I thought, but the client accepted and paid. It just shows to tell…
I have decided that in Light Watch I will also share odd lighting situations or in my opinion wrong lighting applications or effects to vary the subjects and focus of attention a bit. I invite you also to share with me any strange lighting installation you may have observed or interesting lighting place you have visited. Let me know! Below landscape lighting that does not make much sense…a typical “oops!”
Light Watch 9: Landscape lighting “oops”
Projects and people
Singapore, 12th January 2011
I have blogged about it before. To stay alive in our lighting design business you first of all must be doing fee proposals. That is half a foot in the door! Historically you will build some success rate in converting your fee proposal into a project contract, but without fee proposal there is not even a sight on possible business for your practice. Of course you need to know about the projects in the first place and that again depends on who you know! I am fortunate to have built an incredible network of friends in the lighting business and now that I have set up my new company I am very appreciative to see their support and loyalty. I must have done something right over the years 🙂 …
It is amazing how many people you meet in our business. There are weeks were I collect nearly 50 new business cards, not to speak about events such as fairs, functions and seminars were you meet these in a day! Dealing with and filing business cards has been one of the great challenges. I still have boxes full of them! I recently bought myself a new little name card scanner that connects to your laptop and organises your business contacts in groups through Outlook or other Windows or Mac applications. I am trying to go paperless and this would allow me not to physically carry cards with me. I had ever started to do this years ago but somehow it requires discipline and half way I found other priorities and it sort of died prematurely. New company, new challenges, fresh start… a good reason and opportunity to do things right from the start. Also I must say that technology has advanced significantly, with today’s card readers being much more advanced than in the past….
Today’s Light Watch is a rather unique experience in which I was sideways involved during my time with Philips many years ago, the Night Safari. Singapore I believe was the first in the world to develop a night zoo, where artificial (moon)light is created to allow visitors to experience wild life at night.
Light Watch 8: Night Safari, Singapore
Tax
Singapore, 11th January 2011
One of the most dreaded things we all face is declaring our taxable income. Nobody really wants to pay taxes, right? As a lighting design practice however, whether we like it or not, we need to be tax responsible, so in setting up my new company KLD I have to take care of this aspect which is crucial for the future. In order to operate my business in Australia or Singapore and do projects overseas I need to register the company for tax so that the company has a proper tax file registration. Then in order to avoid double taxation for my clients I need to apply for a tax residence certificate to prove I pay my taxes in the country where my business is registered. I have also to decide whether to register the company for GST (Goods & Services Tax). We have always done that in Australia and I am considering the same for Singapore. Most of our projects are overseas which generally are exempt from GST and the local projects generate fees below the yearly average threshold so we do not really have to register.
Having said that, the allocation of our lighting design project fees and income still need to consider the possible taxation it may attract. Do we park the project (and thus fee income) in Singapore or in Australia? Most of our projects take more than a year to complete hence the fee income is spread over more than one financial year. With project building and construction schedules variable and uncertain, planning of the company income is not necessarily an easy task! And let’s not talk about personal income tax…that is another subject all together 🙂
After yesterday’s iconic and historic Raffles Hotel, the latest addition to the Singapore skyline, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino Resort seems the total anti-pole, an exponent of today’s luxury, sophistication and latest technology is my choice for Light Watch. A visit to its unique sky garden is certainly breath taking.
Light Watch 7: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
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